


I Like You

by GloriaGilbertPatch



Category: The Newsroom (US TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-27
Updated: 2014-12-27
Packaged: 2018-03-03 21:38:43
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,536
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2888813
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GloriaGilbertPatch/pseuds/GloriaGilbertPatch
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He's selling the network. She takes his mind off it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I Like You

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Anna__S](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Anna__S/gifts).



> A note: I've seen a couple of episodes of this show, but I don't follow it and it's really not my thing - this is purely a gift for my friend Anna_S, who requested the pairing. My apologies to anyone who finds the characters OOC; I freely admit that they probably are.

Sloan Sabbith tried determinedly to block the memory of the past hour from her mind, horrified at how stilted and awkward she’d just been on her broadcast – more like Sloan in real life than Sloan the confident and compelling financial reporter. Breaking up with a guy she’d meant to be _the_ guy on the same night the network got sold to _that_ guy might not have been the best of plans. She sighed and did her best to admire the look and feel of the city, late spring leaving midtown pleasantly warm, even in the evening, something to cling to before it got too hot and everyone who was anyone was clamoring to retreat to their summer getaways.

Nope, wasn’t working, tonight was terrible and she’d never been the kind of girl to be distracted for long by nice weather.

She was weighing the options of stopping for a drink and heading home immediately, and just as home was about to win – she did have liquor there – she spotted him. Reese Lansing, the man who’d once been _that_ guy and was now, just as he sold the network, their surprising friend. He was sitting on the far end of the bar, alone, finishing whatever was in his lowball glass as the bartender brought him another. Well…maybe. She pulled open the door and walked in.

“Didn’t expect to find you here,” she said crisply as she pulled out the seat next to Reese and sat down.

“Sloan,” he greeted her, politely, tilting his glass vaguely in her direction and then taking a long sip just as she got a whiff of whiskey. “We’re selling the network,” he reminded her. “I’m getting drunk.”

“I can’t say I don’t support you in that decision,” she noted wryly. “It’s been a _really_ long day.” He nodded and took another sip.

“I saw your broadcast,” he commented, gesturing to the television in the corner. “You were good.”

“Mmm, the sound and close captions are off, you have no way of knowing that.”

“Look, I’m sure whatever you said was just fine, but…you were calm, composed, not furious, not heartbroken. You looked good.” Sloan stiffened slightly, unsure how to react. Reese was unnerving (and somehow, strangely endearing) when the situation slipped out of his control.

“I always look good,” she finally answered. It was true, and she wasn’t afraid to say so; she prided herself on not possessing any false modesty. She was pretty and she had a commanding screen presence and a pleasant voice without a strong regional accent. She always played well on television.

“Well, not _always_ – ” he began, in retort, before stopping himself. “Yeah, I guess you do always look good.” She flushed suddenly at his words, not wanting to remember that Reese’s “always” kind of did mean “always.”

“Are you talking about the pictures?” she asked abruptly.

“What? No! I just meant…no, I’m not.” She sighed and shook her head.

“Look, I know you saw my nude photos. You _studied_ them.” Reese looked down, and Sloan could see that the tips of his ears were red.

“Well, yeah, but I didn’t – it was to ascertain that they weren’t photoshopped, or taken without your permission, not because I wanted to…” He took another long sip of his drink.

“You’re very beautiful, Sloan, but looking at your pictures was about doing my job. I’d never want to look at your body – at any woman’s body – if she didn’t want to show me.” She nodded, a bit uncomfortable.

“Not that you have a hard time with that. You’re rich, handsome, powerful – beautiful women are just lining up to strip down for you.” He snorted derisively.

“Yeah, beautiful women with nothing between their ears.” He downed his drink then, slamming it on the bar with a sigh. “I’m so sick of dumb girls, but the smart ones wouldn’t come near me if the place were on fire and I were standing in the exit. Guess I’m too fucked up.”

“You’re not that fucked up.”

“Yeah. I am. Even your boyfriend says so.”

“He’s not my boyfriend anymore. And all he said was that you’re an asshole.”

“Wait, you and Don broke up?” Suddenly Reese’s voice was filled with concern, and it was a little surprising. The longer she’d known him, the more she’d been able to tell that he was actually more human than her Bloomberg terminal, but genuine empathy for someone else was still not what Sloan expected. She nodded.

“It was my choice. He’s…a _good_ guy. He treated me well. We had fun together. The sex was good. But I think we were both always looking over the other’s shoulder.” She sighed. “I didn’t mind that he’s not as smart as I am, but _he_ did, and then I minded that he minded and then...”

“Hey, don’t sell yourself short. He’s also not as interesting as you are or as attractive as you are.” She flashed him a tiny smile at that.

“Do you want another drink?” she asked, somewhat awkwardly. They weren’t really friends and it probably wasn’t appropriate, but she didn’t want him to leave just yet.

“I do, but I shouldn’t.” He let out a long sigh. “What the hell. We’re selling ACN to Lucas Fucking Pruitt. Jameson, neat.” Sloan caught the bartender’s attention – never a difficult task, even when wearing one of her sensible work sheath dresses – and ordered Reese’s drink and a gin and tonic for herself.

“Open a tab,” she added, passing over her credit card, turning to Reese as the bartender took it and adding, dryly, “I have a feeling we’ll need it tonight.”

“That’s true. I may be selling part of the company to Lucas Pruitt, but you’re gonna have to work for him. I should be the one buying _you_ drinks.” Sloan rolled her eyes a little.

“I may not stay. Nothing against Mac, but she doesn’t care anything about making a profit and she’s going to be working under someone who doesn’t care about anything _but_ making a profit. I’m not into that kind of drama. It might be time to throw some irons on the fire and see what I can get.” He nodded.

“I’m sorry. We should have seen this coming. Hell, as long as I’m going with the ‘should’ve’s, I should’ve just sat next to Blair and Randy at Dad’s funeral. God. What kind of man has his career sabotaged because his own damned siblings hate him that much?”

“A man whose siblings are as awful as yours?” she offered with a sardonic smile as the bartender returned with their drinks. “Cheers,” she added, in the most un-cheerful tone she could manage. They clinked glasses and she took a long sip, savoring both the sharp flavor and the blurry feeling it prompted.

“I guess the bright side is Mom now owns ninety percent of the company,” Reese commented, putting his whiskey back down on the bar. Sloan made a face.

“Yeah, the bright side is all your capital is tied up in ninety percent of a publicly traded company. I mean, did you or did you not ever take a finance class?” He sighed and shook his head.

“I remind you, I own no stock in Atlantis. Mom built a great company. She made some dumb mistakes.”

“Like whatever divorce lawyer gave your dad half her interest in the company. What the hell? She couldn’t afford better than some yellow pages legal whore?”

“Hey!”

“Sorry.”

“I mean, you’re right, but…hey.”

“I know, I know, it’s not nice to kick you when you’re down, but come on, Reese, that was seriously stupid.”

“I know, okay?” he said, almost shouting, and Sloan’s head whipped over in surprise.

“I know, the company’s IPO was mishandled, my parents’ divorce was mishandled, I get that, but what was I supposed to do?”

“Sorry,” she said softly, looking down at her drink and taking a long sip. “I – it’s not your fault, I know, I’m sorry.”

“Yeah, well,” he sighed. “I probably shouldn’t have yelled at you. You’re only saying the same things I’ve been saying for years.”

“It must be frustrating. Running your mother’s company, I mean.” Reese shook his head and chuckled humorlessly.

“Sometimes I don’t know why I did it. Sometimes I don’t know why I still do it. In one breath it’s why aren’t we trading higher and why aren’t you married yet.”

“That’s a dumb question, your mom personally owns ninety percent of the company; I’m surprised it’s trading as high as it is,” Sloan said, a bit of a smirk on her lips. “But why aren’t you married yet?”

“I already told you, I’m too fucked up, remember?”

“I don’t think so.”

“Well, maybe you’re fucked up, too.”

“Maybe I am.” She checked her watch. “It’s almost eleven o’clock. Pruitt will own the network in an hour. You need to get drunker, finish your Jameson and let me get you another.” He obediently drained the last of his glass but shook his head.

“Thanks for the offer, but there isn’t enough booze in the world. God. Lucas. Fucking. Pruitt. You know he slept with my girlfriend in college?”

“What? Really? How? …I mean, you’re ridiculously handsome and he’s frankly just okay and badly dressed. That doesn’t make any sense.”

“Yeah, well, I never quite got it, either. But she didn’t deny it. I liked her a lot, you know? Smart, pretty, confident. Interesting. Funny. I guess she saw something in that pretentious dick that I – “

“Stop. Stop. That was, what, fifteen, twenty years ago? She’s not your girlfriend anymore and let me tell you, it doesn’t sound like she’s his, either. There are lots of reasons to hate Pruitt’s guts but a 20-year-old girl who was dumb enough to want to fuck him instead of you shouldn’t be one of them.” As she paused to breathe, she noticed Reese taking a long, thoughtful look at her.

“You know, Sloan, if I didn’t know better I’d think you were trying to pick me up.”

“What, ‘cause I came up to you in a bar, bought you a drink, and started telling you all about how good looking you are?”

“That about covers it, yeah.”

“Well, so what if I am? Would that really be the worst thing? It’s not as if we’re going to be working together anymore. And you just called me beautiful like fifteen minutes ago. And please don’t take offense at this, but you look like you _really_ need to get laid.”

“I’m fine,” he said uncomfortably. She raised her eyebrows and leaned in, lowering her voice.

“I don’t buy it. You’re _always_ tense, but tonight you’re fucking ridiculous. Come on, Lansing. Blow off some steam. It’ll be good for you. Forget about what’s-his-name, and maybe…maybe help me forget about the other what’s-his-name.” He swallowed hard.

“Yeah, okay.”

Within seconds her credit card was in her wallet and the signed draft, on the bar as they walked out the door. A minute later she had them both in a cab headed to her place. Sloan Sabbith knew how to close a deal.

They did not make out in the back seat. That was important. She might be taking her soon-to-be-ex-boss home on a booty call, but they could at least maintain decorum in front of the taxi driver. As soon as they’d crossed the threshold of her apartment, however, all bets were off, and she reached for Reese, her arms wrapping around his neck and bending his face down to her so that she could kiss him. His hands ghosted over her waist for a moment before grabbing her firmly and pulling her body against his, and Sloan registered vaguely in the back of her mind that Reese must somehow find a lot of time to put in at the gym because his chest and abdomen felt like solid muscle under the lightly starched cotton of his dress shirt. Then his tongue forced her lips open and her concentration centered only on how good his mouth felt on hers. His lips were soft, the contrast with the rub of his five o’clock shadow on her jaw driving her wild as he kissed her firmly, hot and eager and just a little bit pushy. God, he knew exactly what he was doing. Her hands at his neck fumbled with the collar of his suit jacket, wanting it off him, wanting to feel the heat of his body under her hands instead. He seemed to realize what she wanted and pulled away, slightly, with obvious effort, and shucked his jacket off before loosening his tie. He reached for her again, then, but Sloan shook her head, quickly removing the tie and unfastening his buttons with practiced fingers.

“Why wait?” she mumbled. “Take it off.” Reese smiled a little and let her unbutton his shirt as he managed his cuffs and belt.

“What about you?” he asked as she went to open his pants. “I’m not insisting on ladies first, but this seems a little lopsided.” Sloan rolled her eyes but turned around and swept her thick dark hair off her neck to expose the tab of her zipper.

“There’s a hook and eye at the top,” she pointed out, but he’d already popped it open and unzipped her dress enough that the lace waistband of her panties poked out. She let her hair down, turned around to face him, and shrugged out of the dress so that it pooled around her feet. In the back of her mind she realized that her ensemble – black lace underwear with thigh high stockings and high heels – was a little pornier than she meant it to be, but then Reese pulled his undershirt over his head and holy mother of God…

“Fuck,” she whispered.

“Fuck,” he agreed, giving her a once-over so blatant that it was reminiscent of mandatory sexual harassment training, and she couldn’t help smiling at the memory – but only for a moment, because then he was on her again, a little more aggressive this time as he pressed up into her, his skin flush with hers and his erection pushing into her hip. She gripped his ass harder and rolled her hips slowly, relishing his groan at the friction.

“Come on, the bedroom’s this way,” she urged him, stepping out of her heels and pulling him further into her apartment.

“Wait,” he said suddenly, as if he were just remembering. “You have condoms?”

“Yes, of course, but I’m on the ball with my birth control so unless you have something to tell me don’t worry about it, okay?” He gave her a funny look at that.

“You’re sure?”

“Yeah, why, is this the part where you tell me you have antibiotic resistant gonorrhea? You’re killing the mood, Lansing.” He smiled crookedly and ran his hand along her waist and over her hip and huh, the mood was suddenly revived.

“No. It’s just been awhile since I…well, that’s not what I expected. Okay. Where’s the bedroom?” Sloan grinned and almost dragged him into her bedroom, nudging him backwards until he landed on her bed. Without pausing, she knelt between his legs and went to work on taking off his shoes and pants. The shoes came off easily, but she couldn’t help lingering at the moan he let out when she opened his fly and her fingertips brushed against his dick.

“Really, Reese?” she kidded. “That’s enough to do it for you? I am _barely_ touching you.” She danced the pads of her fingers over the ridge in his boxers and grinned as his eyes fluttered shut.

“I guess this is the part where I admit that I’ve had a bit of a crush on you for awhile now…holy shit,” he gasped suddenly, as Sloan pushed his underwear down and took him firmly in hand. She smiled up at him as she slowly pumped his cock and then dropped her head to run her tongue along his balls.

“Fuck fuck _fuck_ ,” he moaned, eyes squeezed tight now and hands tightly fisting the sheets.

“You like that, huh?” she teased, drawing away from his lap and tucking her hair behind her ears. He nodded, breathing hard, and opened his eyes, letting her see how badly he wanted her. She returned his stare and, never breaking the connection, lowered her face back down to his groin and swirled her tongue around the head of his cock before pushing further to take him into her mouth with a hard suck.

“Fuck, Sloan, that feels really good,” he gasped, and it was so hot, the way he was looking at her worshipfully, pupils blown wide with desire, that she couldn’t help slipping her fingers into her panties. Reese noticed, and for a moment he just looked even more turned on, but then his hand landed on her shoulder and he was gently pushing her away.

“Let me do that for you,” he panted, rising unsteadily to his feet and pulling her to hers so that they could kiss. His hands snaked around her back, one unfastening the clasp to her bra and the other reaching inside her panties to squeeze her ass. A bit of heated kissing and he’d reversed their positions, Sloan on her back as he leaned over her, his mouth fastened on her right nipple and his right hand tracing patterns over her clit.

“Jesus, Reese,” she moaned, squirming impatiently under his touch. He glanced up at her from his position at her breast and _fuck_ this was such a good idea.

“Get back up here,” she said suddenly, and her nipple slipped out of his mouth, puckering instantly at the absence of his heat. “Get up here and get inside me.” His eyes widened again at her directness, and he went to climb over her when she stopped him, shaking her head.

“I want to be on top,” she said, in the authoritative tone of voice her students and subordinates had learned did not invite questions, and Reese only nodded, which gave her a sudden non-sexual thrill of pleasure – _Reese Lansing_ , obeying her without question – before rationality took over and reminded her that not many men would have argued with her on that one. Still, here he was, buck naked and flat on his back on her bed, and fuck it all if she wasn’t just going to enjoy that.

She straddled his waist and sat down, carefully avoiding any contact with his cock and smiling at the agonized desire on his face as she ran her hands over the hard planes of his chest. His hips shifted needily underneath her and she grinned even more at how much she had him under her control. A part of her wanted to torment him, to make the next few minutes as hard for him as he’d made the last few years for her and the network, but then she remembered the deadened, desperate look in his eyes at the bar and the way she’d wanted to make it better.

“Ready?” she asked, almost unnecessarily, reaching behind her to take him in hand. He nodded breathlessly and she lifted her hips, guiding him to her and lowering slowly to take him in.

“Oh, fuck,” he moaned, reaching around to grip her ass.

“My thoughts exactly,” she managed, chuckling a little. He felt perfect inside her, big but not uncomfortably so, and it was a little bit unfair that he was allowed to be that handsome, that smart, that wealthy, and still in possession of such a beautifully proportioned penis – Sloan had dated enough to know what a rare combination that was.

She moved almost tentatively, trying to find the right motion, grinding down against him in a way she knew was teasing him but damn if it didn’t feel amazing to her. He’d gotten her close with his fingers and she didn’t feel like being patient right now, so she held him in place with one hand on his shoulder and experimented until she found exactly the perfect pace to bring herself off on his dick. She didn’t stop, either, shamelessly chasing her own orgasm and crying out when it finally hit her, collapsing on his chest and breathing hard as she felt herself fluttering around him. She relaxed a moment, enjoying the aftershocks, until Reese’s voice broke through her post-orgasmic haze.

“Please, Sloan, don’t stop, God, please, please, don’t stop,” he moaned, and she tightened her muscles around his cock in reassurance that she hadn’t forgotten about him. She drew herself up a little, pulling back along his body, and started pistoning her hips, slowly at first but gaining in speed as his groans made it clear she’d landed on the right rhythm. His eyes were closed and he was squirming helplessly underneath her in a way that had Sloan wondering just _how_ long it had been since he’d let himself lose control. She set her pace a little faster, a little harder, and reached a hand behind her to stroke his balls in time with her motions.

“Come on, Reese,” she whispered throatily as she steadily brought him higher. “Come on, let go, I know you want to. Look at me.” His eyes opened obediently and he swallowed hard as he watched her moving up and down on his dick. Suddenly she clenched around him on the downstroke and cupped his balls fully in her palm and he was yelling out his release, clinging to the backs of her thighs as he arched off the bed.

“Fuck,” he panted as she fell forward, exhausted from the exertion, and his arms moved up to wind around her waist. “ _Fuck_ , that was good. You really…I…mmm, that was good.” Sloan smiled lazily, kissing his neck as her head found a comfortable place on his chest.

“Mmm, yeah, this was a great idea, I’m glad I thought of it,” she mumbled, and she felt him chuckle softly under her cheek.

“Sure beats sitting in a bar feeling sorry for myself,” he agreed, lazily running his fingers through her hair in a way that was just a little bit too intimate.

She rolled off him and scrambled to her feet, pulling her hair off her neck and up into a clip and smiling slightly awkwardly down at the man in her bed.

“I need a glass of water,” she told him. “Do you want one, too?” He nodded slightly.

“Yeah, but you know, I can get it myself,” Reese said, climbing out of the bed as she turned to leave. “I’ll come with you.” He followed her into the kitchen, still naked, and Sloan couldn’t help being surprised at that. Not that she was complaining – his face had never been a secret, but who knew just how great Reese’s body was under all those well cut suits?! – but it was surprising, that’s all. She didn’t really have ground to stand on, though, not having stopped to put on any clothes herself.

“Are you hungry?” she asked politely, opening the door to the fridge as she handed him a glass. “I have…hmm. I have leftover pizza, if you promise not to tell _Shape_.” She pulled the box out and laid it on the counter, and he laughed.

“Thank you, and I promise.” They dug in, Sloan regarding Reese thoughtfully as she ate.

He was more like the guys she’d dated before Don, to be sure – and as Don had loved to remind her, they’d mostly turned out to be assholes. But she’d thought Reese was an asshole for a long time until suddenly she didn’t, until suddenly he was thoughtful and almost kind, if still somewhat prickly around the edges. And now, looking at him with his guard down, relaxed from a little too much liquor and some really good sex, naked in her kitchen and shoveling cold margherita pizza into his mouth, she couldn’t help thinking that he was actually pretty great.

“Hey, Reese?” she said suddenly, swallowing the last of her slice. He looked up at her, eyes questioning.

“Yeah?”

“I like you.” He shrugged a little.

“You just fucked me. I kinda figured you didn’t hate me.”

“No, but I mean…” She paused, not entirely sure what she meant. “You’re not a bad guy. I like you.” He looked at her for a long moment and nodded his head quietly.

“Thank you.” Sloan looked down, suddenly uncomfortable.

“Yeah, well…you’re welcome.” He closed the box and pushed the pizza away, walking over to stand close to her. She waited expectantly, but he didn’t say anything, didn’t reach out to touch her.

“You’re good in bed, too,” she blurted, and then winced. Reese offered a crooked smile in return.

“Thank you,” he repeated. “That part I did know, though. Even if you didn’t really give me the opportunity to show off.” Sloan rolled her eyes.

“All men think they’re good in bed, but you actually are. Or at least we’re compatible. It was a nice surprise.” She tapped her fingernails against the counter, feeling a pang of desire low in her belly as she thought back to the unexpectedly awesome sex they’d just had. She jumped suddenly at the feel of his palm against the small of her back.

“I like your compliments,” he told her, his voice a little more gravelly than usual. “They always sound like you didn’t want to give them but you just couldn’t help it.” She turned her head to look at him and he was there, in her space, breathing gently on her neck, his chest still glistening slightly from earlier and his dick half-hard again. She couldn’t help reaching out to touch him, lightly but enough to make him swallow and God, if there was anything as sexy as the way his Adam’s apple moved she didn’t know what it was.

“Reese?” she asked, a little bit breathily. He nodded slightly. “Do you want to have sex again?” He nodded again, more fervently, and then their mouths met and he had her pressed up against the counter, her back arching to accommodate the force of his kiss. She reached for him, running her hands along the heavy muscles of his back, enjoying the press of his growing erection into her hip. “Fuck,” she whispered against his lips as she involuntarily ground herself against him.

“Like this?” he asked throatily, his hips starting to move, gently, with hers. Sloan shook her head.

“No, it’d be too hard on my back,” she said, perhaps a little bit too practically for foreplay, but Reese didn’t seem to mind. “Do me from behind.” She snuck one more kiss from his lips and turned around, leaning over the counter and waiting impatiently for him to push inside her. Instead, he started with his fingers, sliding his right hand along her thigh before reaching between her legs. She was still slippery from before – from herself and from him, now that she thought about it, which should have been gross but instead was hot as hell as he fingered her, slowly and deliberately. They had rushed through this part the first time, but now he was unhurried, rubbing her gently with his right hand while his left caressed her thigh, her hip, her waist.

“Faster,” she whispered, a little impatient now. He changed his tempo obediently, adjusting his speed and pressure more precisely than she would have thought possible, and she suddenly turned her head, seeking his lips, wanting desperately to kiss him as he found just the right stroke. Unfortunately, his mouth was a little too far away.

“It’s not a great height,” he said, voice somehow sheepish over its hoarseness. Sloan nodded a little and reluctantly pulled away, grabbing her discarded heels from the doorway and putting them back on to give herself a crucial extra two and a half inches. Reese was behind her again in seconds, picking up exactly where he’d left off, only this time she could feel his cock pressing insistently against her ass, his breath hot where he leaned over her shoulder. His fingers were driving her higher and higher, his left hand latching on her breast now and his lips pressing into her neck, and suddenly she felt unbearably empty.

“Fuck me,” she said, turning her head and interrupting his attempt to give her a hickey. “Do it, Reese, put it in me _now_.” He fumbled for a moment, and she leaned forward to change the angle, and then he was pushing inside her and it was so exactly what she wanted that she let out a long moan in relief. She steadied herself against the counter and pushed back, wanting to feel him as deep as he would go.

“Oh God you’re so tight,” he mumbled into her ear, his fingers speeding up over her clit as he thrust into her. His lips were on her neck again, trailing kisses from her ear down along her jaw until she turned her head and caught his mouth with hers. Reese’s mouth was hot and eager, and Sloan leaned into it, sucking hard on his tongue and relishing the way he responded with a forceful thrust of his hips. She was so close to coming that she could barely breathe, but she couldn’t stop kissing him. Instead she slipped her hand over his, encouraging him to move faster and faster until she went spiraling over the edge, biting harder than she meant to on Reese’s tongue.

“Sorry, sorry,” she gasped, pulling away from their kiss to look him in the face, but he shook his head as his hands moved to grasp both her hips.

“Fuck, no, that was hot,” he managed, tightening his grip and thrusting again, a little harder, a little more desperate. She leaned forward over the counter in response, the angle changing subtly until he filled her so perfectly that it was almost overwhelming. He moaned his pleasure and she looked over her shoulder again, reaching between her legs to touch him where they were joined and smiling at his enthusiastic response.

“Go ahead,” she said encouragingly. “Go ahead, fuck me, exactly how you want to…come on…” He slammed into her almost instantly, so hard it almost hurt, and kept at it even as his face reddened with frenetic exertion.

“Yeah…Reese…just like that,” she sighed, fairly sure at this point that hearing her voice might do the trick for him. “Fuck me, take me, yes, yes…” She moaned curses and nonsense to mingle with his until he came with a shout and collapsed, chest slippery with sweat and heart pounding furiously, against her back. Sloan smiled a little and let him rest as he caught his breath.

“You okay?” she asked after a couple of moments, wanting to stand back up but not wanting to take him too off guard.

“Yeah,” he panted. “Better than okay. _Fuck_ , Sloan.” He drew away from her, slipping out, and she rose and turned around to look at him. His face was covered in a sheen of sweat; his hair was damp and curling; and he was still breathing hard. She couldn’t deny she felt a slight twinge of pride at that.

“I know,” she murmured, leaning in to kiss him on the cheek, before continuing, abruptly businesslike.

“You can take a shower if you want, there are extra towels in the bathroom,” she told him, gesturing towards the hallway. “And if you need clothes and don’t want to wear your own underwear to bed I can probably find you something leftover from an ex.” His brow furrowed.

“Are you inviting me to stay over?”

“Reese, it’s almost two o’clock in the morning; I _expect_ you to stay over. Come on, it’s late, do you really feel like going home?” His eyes widened.

“Two o’clock?” She nodded, gesturing to the clock on the microwave. “So what you’re saying is, Lucas Pruitt’s owned the network for nearly two hours now.”

“Yup.”

“Huh. That didn’t hurt as bad as I expected it to.”

“Given what you were doing during the transfer of power, I’d be kind of insulted if it did.” He grinned a little at that and caught her by the elbow, pulling her in for an affectionate kiss.

“Hey. Thanks,” he murmured, flashing her an intimate, crooked smile that prompted a couple of flips in Sloan’s stomach.

“It wasn’t completely altruistic, if you didn’t notice,” she pointed out. “I had fun.” She hesitated a moment. “And I’m not saying we should do it again, but…I wouldn’t be entirely opposed.” Reese nodded a little.

“Yeah, I don’t think I would, either.” They smiled at each other, slightly awkward and embarrassed, but…well.

“You should take a shower, though; you’re pretty gross. And I need to put clean sheets down on the bed.” He nodded again and turned towards the bathroom before stopping to take a long look at her.

“Hey, Sloan?”

“Yeah, what?” she asked vaguely as she put away the pizza box and moved their water glasses to the sink.

“I like you, too. And I _definitely_ want to do this again.”


End file.
